Attachment for arm rest for furniture



.May 21, 1940. E. E. STEADMAN 2,201,354

ATTACHMENT FOR Am REST FOR FURNITURE Filed Dec. 12. 1938 ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE ATTACHMENT FOB ABM BEST FOR FURNITURE Edwin E. Steadman, sum- Creek, N. Y., assignmto John F. Collins, doing busin on as Montgomery Manufacturing Company, Silver Creek,

Application December 12, 1938, Serial No. 245,122

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an article of furniture such as a chair which has an arm rest provided with means whereby social articles such as packages of cigarettes, ash receivers, and drinking glasses may be concealed in the arm rest of furniture while these articles are not in use but permit the same, together with other like equipment, to be supported in an exposed position so that these articles may be used.

It is the object of this invention to provide the arm rest of furniture with an attachment for supporting and displaying smoking and refreshment articles of this character which are of simple and compact construction so as to readily fit into the space within the arm rest of a piece of furniture and which can be readily withdrawn from the arm rest for the purpose of supporting such social articles ready for use, said supporting means being so designed that when the articles supported thereby are not required, the same may be pushed into the arm rest and produce a finished appearance on the exterior of the latter.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the arm rest of an article of furniture such as a chair, lounge, settee, or the like.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 22, Fig. l and showing the article supporting means in a closed position within the arm rest.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, taken on line 3-3, Fig. 2, looking downwardly and showing the article supporting means withdrawn from the arm rest.

Fg. 4 is a vertical line 4-4, Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 5-5, F 2.

In the following description similar characters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawing:-

The arm rest of the article of furniture shown in the drawing comprises an upright front wall ill, a horizontal top wall H which has its front end connected with the upper end of the front wall by a curved comer l2, and two upright longitudinal side walls l3 arranged on opposite edges of the front wall, top wall and corner. The exterior of the several members of the arm rest. which have been just described, may be covered or finished in any suitable manner, for example, by means of 'upholstering M.

The corner I2 is provided with an opening 15 which affords access from the exterior of the arm trasverse section, taken on rest to the hollow interior of the same which forms a space for the reception of the drawer upon which the social articles are supported for presenting them either on the exterior of the arm rest for use; or storing the same within the internal space of this arm rest when these articles are not required. The entrance or opening l5 of this storage space extends from the upper edge ii of the front wall which is arranged horizontally below the top wall II to the front edge I! of the top wall which is arranged vertically in rear of the front wall III, as best shown in Fig. 2.

The means for supporting social articles, such for example, as a package of cigarettes ll, an

ash receiver l9, and a drinking glass 20, preferably include a drawer which is slidable through the entrance l5 of the drawer space into and out of the interior of this hollow arm rest. This drawer preferably comprises a horizontal bottom upon which the social articles are supported, two upright longitudinal walls, and a front lid or panel. The bottom is preferably composed of three superposed layers of wood, a lower layer 2 I,

an upper layer 22, and an intermediate layer 23 which may be secured to each other by means of glue, or in any other suitable manner, and this bottom is mounted on the arm rest so as to be capable of sliding horizontally and lengthwise either into a closed position within the arm rest, as shown by full lines in Fig. 2, or into an open position, as shown by dotted lines in the same figure. For this purpose the intermediate layer 23 of the drawer bottom, is made somewhat narrower than the lower and upper layers 2|, 22 so as to form longitudinal guide grooves 25 in op.- posite longitudinal edges of this bottom which are adapted to receive guide rails 28 secured to the inner side of the adjacent parts of the upright walls l3 by means ofscrews 2'|,'as shown in Fig. 4, or any other approved manner. By these means the drawer is reliably guided as it slides horizontally to its open and closed position relative to the arm rest. The front ends of the several layers of the bottom are secured to a cross bar 28 by glue or otherwise and thereby prevent these layers from becoming displaced relative to each other.

The upper layer 22 of the bottom is somewhat narrower than the lower layer 2! and. the opposite longitudinal edges of the same are engaged by the upright side walls of the drawer, each of which side walls comprises a comparatively low rear part 29 which is adapted to pass into and out of a position underneath the top wall ll of the arm rest and a comparatively high front part 30 which has its upper edge arranged substantially on a level with the upper surface of the top wall II and is adapted in a closed position of the drawer to be arranged adjacent to the front edge I! of the top wall II while the front edge of this high front part- 30 is arranged horizontally opposite the top wall I I of the fumiture. The rear ends of the drawer side walls are connected by a rear cross wall 3 I. The side walls 29, 29 of the drawer together with the rear transverse wall 3| thereof are preferably construoted of sheet metal and form an enclosure along the longitudinal sides and across the intermediate part of the drawer bottom in which may be placed any desired articles which are used by smokers or for other social purposes. At its front end the drawer is provided with a lid or panel which forms a closure across the vertical front end and the horizontal front top portion of the drawer, for which purpose this lid is constructed to form a vertical lower front part 32, a horizontal upper rear part 33 and an intermediate curved part 34 connecting the vertical front part 32 and the horizontal upper part 33. The vertical front part 32 of this lid is secured to the cross bar 28 of the bottom and the adjacent vertical edge portions of the drawer side walls, the upper horizontal portion of the lid 33 is secured to the horizontal upper edge portions of the high parts 30 of the drawer side walls, and the curved part 34 of this lid is secured to the upper front corners of the high front parts 30 of -the drawer sidewalls, which corners are made of corresponding curvature. The lower edge portion 32 of the lid projects a short distance below the underside of the drawer bottom and is adapted. to engage with the front side of the front wall ID of the arm rest in the closed position of the drawer, as shown by full lines in Fig. 2, and the rear edge portion 33 of this lid extends rearwardly beyond. the high front part 30 of the drawer side walls and is adapted to overhang the front edge portion of the top wall II of the arm rest in the closed position of this drawer, as shown in the same figure. I i I 1 When this drawer is closed its lid form a closure for the entrance to the drawer space and produces a finish on this part of the arm rest which is neat in appearance and effectively conceals the articles which are carried by the drawer and stowed within the arm rest. In the construction of the drawer, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the rear parts of the upper layer 22 and intermediate layers 23 are bored to form a socket 35 in which may be seated one of the socialarticles such, for example, as the ash receptacle I9. In front of this socket 35 this bottom may be provided with a similar socket 36 in Which may be seated anothersocial article such as a drinking glass 20 which is shown by dotted lines. For convenience in supporting a package of cigarettes on this drawer bottom so that the same will not occupy excessive space and still be easily removed from this drawer, a pocket or receptacle is formed for the package of cigarettes I8 which has an upright wall 31 extending from the upper surface of the drawer bottom downwardly to an extent equal to about the thickness of. a package of cigarettes, and an inclined surface 38 which extends from the lower end of the upright surface 31 upwardly to the upper side of the drawer bottom a distance about equal to the length of a package of cigarettes, whereby upon placing the latter in this pocket so that thelower end of this package engages with the upright face 31 and the underside of the package engages with the inclined face 38, this package will be reliably held in position against horizontal displacement on the drawer bottom as the latter is opened and closed and yet this package can be easily removed when required by grasping the elevated upper end of the same which is conveniently accessible for this purpose. 3

Means are provided for retaining this drawer in its closed position within the arm rest when this drawer is not in use and still permit of conveniently releasing the same when the contents of the drawer are required. The preferred construction. of these retaining means, as shown in the drawing, is as follows:

On the upper side of the drawer bottom in rear of the receptacle wall 3I is secured a clip 39 which is provided with a forwardly facing keeper All. This keeper is adapted to cooperate with a detent which is mounted on the adjacent part of the top wall II of the arm rest for the purpose of either holding the drawer in its closed position or releasing the same so that the drawer may be opened. In its preferred form this-detent includes a catch pivoted by means of a horizontal transverse pin M on a bracket carried by a supporting block 42 mounted on the underside of the top wall I I of the arm rest and provided with a forwardly'and downwardly projecting beak 43 which is adapted to engage with the keeper 40 and an upwardly projecting releasing tail 44. The front side of this tail is engaged by means of a releasing cam 45 which is movable trans- Versely and horizontally and preferably formed on the central part of a shifting rod, the inner end 46 of which slides in an opening 41 in the outer side wall of the arm rest while the inner end 48 of the same slides in a bracket BI mounted on the inner side wall of said arm rest, as shown in Fig. 5. The inner end 48 of the cam shifting rod is connected with one end of a thrust arm 62 arranged outside of the bracket 6| and the opposite end of this arm is provided with a guide pin or finger 63 which slides transversely in the adjacent part of the bracket BI and thus prevents the cam 45 from turning. The shifting rod is yieldingly held in a position in which its cam 45 is along the inner side of the catch tail 44 by a spring consisting preferably of a block of. rubber 49 interposed between the bracket 6| and the thrust arm 62, as shown in Fig. 5. The arm 62 and the adjacent parts of the rod forming a part thereof are covered by the upholstery I4 on the inner side wall of the arm rest so as to conceal the respective part of the catch operating mechanism and maintain a neat appearance of the furniture.

The cam 45 is operated by a push button 64 arranged outside of the upholstery adjacent to the inner side of. the arm rest and the thrust arm 62 and connected with the outer end of a shank 65 sliding through the bracket 6| and provided at its inner end with a stop 66 adapted to engage with the inner side of this bracket, as shown in Fig. 5.

Upon pushing the drawer inwardly into its closed position the keeper 40 on the bottom thereof trips underneath the beak 43 of the catch action with the tail 44 on the catch and thereby tilt the latter so that its beak 43 is swung upwardly out of the path of the keeper 40 and thus permits the drawer to be moved forwardly into an open position.

The opening movement of the drawer when thus released is perfectly effected automatically by spring means which consist in the present case of a helical opening spring 50 arranged underneath the drawer and connected at its inner end with the underside of the drawer bottom by means of a screw eye 5| while its front end is connected with the inner side of the front wall ill by means of a screw eye 52.

For the purpose of preventing complete withdrawal of the drawer but instead arresting the outward movement of the same when the front part thereof has been exposed sufficiently to present the articles supported thereon in position for use, stop means are provided which preferably consist of a stop plate 53 pivoted loosely adjacent to its rear end to the rear part of the underside of the drawer by screws 54 so that this plate normally inclines forwardly, as shown by full lines'in Fig. 2, and will engage its front end with a surface on the front wall I0, as shown by dotted lines in the same figure, upon moving the drawer forward into its open position but prevent complete removal of the same at this time from the arm rest. The stop plate is preferably held yieldingly in this inclined position by a spring 55 interposed between the same and the underside of the drawer and the extent of this inclination is preferably limited by a stop tall 56 projecting rearwardly from this plate and engaging with the underside of the drawer, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to prevent noise when the drawer is pulled out to the limit of its opening movement the inner side of the front wall It is provided with a rubber bumper 51 which is adapted to be engaged by the front end of the stop plate at such times, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

when it is desired to completely remove the drawer from the arm rest this can be done by 45 first lifting the front end of the stop plate 53 high enough to pass outwardly over the upper end of the front wall, this lifting being effected by a tool of suitable construction which is passed inwardly through the space between the upper end of the front wall In and the underside of the drawer while the latter is in a partially opened position and therefore enables the stop plate to be reached for this purpose.

The above described means for supporting social articles within an arm rest of a piece of furniture can be manufactured at comparatively low cost and readily attached to arm rests without any material departure from the present standard of construction. The several parts are strong and durable and therefore not likely to get out of order, the same can be easily manipulated and the various parts are so constructed that the neat and artistic appearance of the furniture is preserved.

I claim as my invention:

An article of furniture having an arm rest pro- ,vided with an upright front wall, a horizontal top wall and a drawer space arranged within the arm rest and having an entrance between the upper end of siada front wall and the front end of said top wall, a drawer slidable horizontally through said entrance into and out of said drawer space, and a detent device for holding said drawer in its closed position including a keeper arranged on the drawer, a catch mounted on said arm rest and adapted to engage said keeper, a rod slidable on said arm rest and having a cam adapted to engage said catch for disengaging the same from said keeper and also having a thrust arm connected with said rod and provided with a guide pin, a bracket which is mounted on said arm rest and on which said rod and pin are guided, a push button guided on said bracket and adapted to bear against said thrust arm for causing said cam to disengage said catch from said keeper, and a spring interposed between said bracket and thrust arm and operating to withdraw said cam from said catch.

EDWIN E. STEADMAN. 

